The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and more particularly to sortation conveyors.
Sorting conveyor systems are used to selectively divert articles traveling along a main conveyor onto an exit conveyor or chute. In one conventional system, the main conveyor includes a conveyor belt having rollers arranged to rotate in a direction transverse to the direction of belt travel to divert articles atop the rollers toward and off a side of the belt and onto an exit conveyor. If the belt rollers are recessed inward of the side of the belt too far or if the bottom surface of the article is not flat and does not make good contact with the rollers in the belt, the force the rollers can provide to transfer an article over the side onto the exit conveyor may not be sufficient, and the article will not transfer off. Sometimes, an article not meant for transfer can coast on the rollers toward the first side. The article's momentum can be great enough to carry it over the side and onto the exit conveyor.